Partners
by Tenshi no Kijutsu
Summary: AU - At Tomoeda Boarding School, children are bred to be geniues and fighters. The students don't know anything of the outside world. New friendships are tested in a mystery to discover Tomoeda's secret. Rated for violence. SS, ET-CHAPTER 3 AT LAST!
1. First Meeting

**Partners****  
****By Tenshi no Kijutsu**  
  
_Disclaimer: Is my name CLAMP? Nope. So do I own CCS? Nope. I made up Hiiragizawa Kika and Mizuki Josh, so they are the only ones I own. __  
__  
__I will be using the traditional Japanese style of writing the last name first. _  
  
**Chapter One: First Meeting**  
  
Kinomoto Sakura stood on the girls' side of the practice room. Her friend and normal practice partner Li Meilin stood next to her. On her other side was her best friend Daidouji Tomoyo. It was the first day of the new school year at their boarding school. They lived there full time, and the school year lasted all but December each year. The children who attended the school were no better than orphans, having never known their parents. They were bred to be fighters and geniuses. It was a horrible practice, but a common one in the small towns surrounding Tomoeda Boarding School. The people were poor and could not raise children even if they wanted to. So as long as they had children within specified pairings, their children would have a better life than they could ever offer them.   
  
Tomoeda was the town that the school was built in. It was a place for the children to live in after they were eighteen and had graduated. They could live and work there for two years before they were forced to move elsewhere. Most chose to take advantage of the powerful and well-paying job opportunities that were open to graduates. But some still chose to live a normal adult life and used Tomoeda as a starting point where they could get their bearings and start their new lifestyle.  
  
Sakura, Tomoyo, and Meilin were three members of the class of seventeen-year-olds. At the other end of the practice court the boys were beginning to enter. For the first time in eleven years the boys and girls would see each other and learn and practice together. Next year would be their last year here and they were encouraged to start relationships with members of the opposite sex. They were even rooming in the same hallway, one long building with boys on one side and girls on the other. The rooms were not monitored. No one cared if the students fooled around. Not even the other students. It was normal; it was what they had known since they were born.   
  
The girls watched the boys file in. The teachers were not in yet; each morning the students had an hour of social time. One boy caught Sakura's eye. They looked at each other, and he casually followed the other boys over to that side of the room. He came up to her and smiled slightly. "My name is Li Syaoran. Nice to meet you," he said. He had messy brown hair and brown eyes. "My name is Kinomoto Sakura. These are my friends Li Meilin and Daidouji Tomoyo," Sakura answered. "Ah, a Kinomoto. She always does choose the most attractive," he said. Sakura blushed.   
  
There were five leaders of the boarding school who each chose students who were best at a specific talent and gave them their last name. Li Yelan chose the best fighters, and Kinomoto Nadesiko chose the ones with the strongest magic and usually the best-looking ones. Daidouji Sonomi preferred those with musical ability, and Mizuki Kaho liked the patient students who were likely to become teachers in the future. And then there was the mysterious Hiiragizawa Kika. She chose the students that had excellent concentration and intelligence, ones that had great self-control. The five women taught their own group of students until the children were six. Then they were divided by gender instead of last name. They chose who their students would be when the children were four.  
  
"Well she may, but Lady Yelan always takes the strongest. Meilin has told me all about her classes," Sakura said. Suddenly, a blue-haired boy walked up to Syaoran, followed by two others, one with brown hair and the other with black. "Oh, these are my friends Hiiragizawa Eriol, Mizuki Yamazaki, and Mizuki Josh," Syaoran explained. Sakura nodded. "I'm Sakura Kinomoto, and these are my friends Daidouji Tomoyo and Li Meilin." They all smiled and the new friends began to discuss the differences between the girls' classes and the boys'.   
  
"They sure do train us hard," Sakura commented. "You? They're definitely worse on us guys We could beat you anytime," Eriol replied. Soon, all seven of them were arguing. Suddenly, the whole room went silent. The boys all rushed to line up on their side, and the girls hurried to their places. Five women had entered the room. The male students had not seen these women in eleven years. But the women were the girls' teachers and saw them everyday. They were the founders. Yelan Li, who was by far the strictest, stood at one end of the path between the girls and boys. She looked from one side to the other.  
  
"Girls, you are to choose a boy to be your practice partner. Any arguments will be immediately punished. Not a word shall be spoken. Do it now," Yelan said. Her voice was soft, but everyone in the huge room heard her. Sakura went over to Syaoran, smiling mischievously. Tomoyo smirked at Eriol, the partner she had chosen. Meilin was almost glaring at Josh, but she stood next to him. Yelan seemed to take little notice of the strange behavior.   
  
"Now be honest," Yelan began once everyone had settled down. "Raise your hand, boys, if you believe that you are worked harder then the girls." All the boys raised their hands. "Well, you were not taught by us, now were you?" Yelan said, smirking. The other four women smiled from behind her. "Kinomoto Sakura, you are our best student. According to the boys' teacher, Li Syaoran is the best boy. You two come up here and have an official fight," Kika said. Yelan nodded. "You know the rules, do not disobey them," she added. Sakura and Syaoran walked to the center of the room as the other students gathered in a wide circle around them. The five founders stood at evenly separated points in the circle. "Begin."  
  
For the first ten minutes or so the students were enthralled in the speed and accuracy of their two classmates. They each struck and blocked perfectly in a flurry of lighting-fast fighting. Neither was sweating, breathing heavily, or even tiring. Suddenly, a bright pink light struck at Syaoran's chest, knocking him on his back. Sakura quickly pinned him to the ground and used a bit more of her magic to strangle Syaoran's. For a few seconds, the entire room was silent. Then the girls broke out in loud cheers, gradually joined by the boys. Sakura stood up and helped Syaoran, then turned around to face Yelan. He suddenly sent a spark of green energy racing towards her back, but she put up a shield without even looking back at him. "How is that possible?" Syaoran muttered to himself before standing beside Sakura, facing Yelan.   
  
Yelan glared at Syaoran, and he was enveloped in a cocoon of lightning. He did not cry out. After a minute, the lightning faded away and Syaoran collapsed. Sakura looked down at him sadly, but was afraid to help him. She did not want to get in trouble as well. "Syaoran, has your teacher not taught you to use magic in combat? I saw Sakura purposely give you openings to use your magic. It is what we have taught the girls, to taunt the enemy. Has your teacher failed to show you something as simple as a shield?" Yelan asked. "Then you break the rules by attacking her after the battle is over and her back is turned. And you are disbelieving of Sakura's ability to sense magic. All of us here are perfectly capable of doing so. Have the boys not been taught these skills?  
  
Syaoran ignored his impulse to look away from Yelan's iron glare. "Li-sama, our teacher has taught us to use magic, but I have never been so challenged. I am usually paired with the weaker students to help them learn. It has been a long time sine I was up against a decent opponent. However, we were never instructed on sensing a magical attack."   
  
Yelan looked down in thought. "Sakura, you are to room with Syaoran and teach him to sense magic. He is expected to know this in no more than one week. Then you are both to instruct the other boys in it. And if Syaoran is by far the best as I have been told, I do not wish to know how many of them would lose to my weakest girls. I would estimate more than three fourths of them. Every morning, there is to be no more free time. You are all to practice with your new partners each morning. When Sakura and Syaoran are ready to teach the boys about magic, the girls will go back to their old partners for morning warm up."  
  
Yelan finished her speech and left the room, but her four companions stayed behind to supervise. For the next five hours, they constantly practiced with their new partners. They were not allowed to use magic just yet. At noon, they stopped for lunch. At two, they went off to their academic studies until dinnertime. After that they practiced until nine o'clock. They had from 9:00 PM to 5:45 AM to do whatever they pleased, which was most often sleeping.  
  
Tomoyo left Sakura's room and moved into the empty space in Eriol's room left by Syaoran. She was planning to help Eriol with his balance. And so their new, busier schedules began, but they did not complain. There was nothing to complain about. They did not know anything about the other ways of growing up. They used computers every day in class, but there were no games, online or installed. No games were played in Tomoeda. Tomoeda was a town without happiness. They believed what they were taught, that it was a noble school. They had never gone beyond the tall chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. And no one had ever tried. Because no one had anywhere to go.  
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_So, what did you think? It took me forever to fix it after my computer went crazy. Hope you liked it. Review!_  
  



	2. Scarlet Stains

Partners By Tenshi no Kijutsu/Carrie Carlton  
  
If you have a weak stomach or do not like to read about blood, skip the first paragraph. It's really nasty, and I don't want anyone to throw up. It's just extremely bloody and disgusting. If you're REALLY sensitive, skip the second paragraph too.  
  
This chapter should be better because there's not as much explaining that needs to be done.  
  
Chapter Two: Scarlet Stains  
  
Sakura could feel and hear her pulse. Her head was throbbing, her eyes stung from sweat. Her face was stained with her own blood, and a large bruise was spreading across her stomach where the fabric of her shirt was torn away. Her hands and feet were crimson with the blood of her enemy. Her clothes were soaked in blood, sweat, and tears. Her shoes had long since been pulled off and her sword lay in two pieces, snapped neatly at the hilt before it could draw any blood. Her honey-brown hair was matted with tangles and dried blood. Her emerald eyes were darkened with fatigue, determination, hatred, and fear. Sakura finally succumbed to the inevitable. She collapsed to the ground unconscious. Her head made a sickening thud as it banged against the bloody tatami floor. Her numerous cuts continued to bleed freely, and although unconscious she could feel her life leaving her. She could feel the pool of blood soaking into her pores, saturating her skin in the dark red liquid. And she clung onto her life as her opponent fell to one knee in exhaustion, laughing silently while watching Sakura die. The person was breathing heavily and coughing up blood without realizing it. The last sound Sakura heard was the sound of her enemy's head falling to the floor a yard away from her own.  
  
Sakura woke with a start from the nightmare. It wasn't the first time. Bloody dreams were not uncommon in her sleep. She got out of bed, and went to the bathroom. Looking into the mirror, she screamed. One side of her face was stained reddish, as well as that whole side of her body. Most of her face was spotted in red. Her hands and feet were completely stained. Her pajama top had been clawed at and the stomach was ripped off, showing a faded bruise. Her hair was tangled and pink as if from blood. As she stared at her reflection in complete horror, Syaoran rushed in drowsily in his pajamas. "What is -" he started. He stared at the stains on her skin and hair, and the bruise on her stomach. Tears began to stream down Sakura's face and Syaoran hugged her, letting her cry into his chest while he blushed slightly. He picked her up and put her on his bed, because her blankets were torn and streaked with faded bloodstains.  
  
"Tell me what happened, Sakura. I can help you," Syaoran said. She continued to cry into his chest, mumbling words. He eventually managed to piece together her dream. By then, she had run out of tears and he convinced her to change into regular clothes that were not streaked with old blood. He also changed out of his pajamas. Syaoran took Sakura's hand and walked across the hall to Eriol and Tomoyo's room. The four friends went to the rooms that the founders stayed in. They found the door marked Kinomoto and knocked on it. A sleepy Nadeshiko opened the door, but was wide-awake as soon as she saw the state Sakura was in. She quickly gathered the other four women and they sat down to hear the story behind the stains.  
  
The five founders shooed Syaoran and Eriol out of the room and began to try and wash off the stains. By breakfast, Tomoyo came out with Sakura looking like normal. "It washed out of my hair and they covered the skin with makeup," she said. Sakura was wearing a long-sleeve white cotton peasant shirt with smocking all the way around her stomach and at her wrists. The material fell down a bit past her waist and wrists, covering the backs and palms of her hands. Her loose pants were made of soft brown kid the color of her hair (think gloves people, I know you've heard of kid gloves), much softer than the brown or black leather pants that they all usually wore. Tomoyo was wearing an off-white blouse that stopped an inch above her waist and tied in a knot below the buttons in the front. She wore very dark gray pants made of the same material as Sakura's. Sakura wore clogs and Tomoyo wore sandals. The girls sat down across the table from Syaoran, Eriol, Yamazaki, and Josh. Also on the girls' side was Meilin.  
  
"Why are you wearing your day-off clothes?" Josh asked. "Classes are cancelled today, didn't you hear?" Meilin told him. Her hair was up in two buns, but without any hair falling down. Sakura's short hair was left plain with just her natural blond highlights and Tomoyo's long hair was up in curled pigtails. The boys groaned. "Sakura, you want to train? We have to work on that magic stuff," Syaoran asked. Sakura nodded. They headed off to the training rooms followed by their friends. Tomoyo was still tutoring Eriol on balance and the other three just wanted to watch.  
  
Sakura kicked off her clogs, showing that her feet were still slightly pink. Everyone in the group had been told of the incident and took little notice. Around Sakura's ankles were plain silver bands. They were solid silver, unbending and large. They would not fit over Sakura's heel, but they were big enough to move when Sakura walked, glittering brilliantly. They had been on a necklace when she was a small child, and nobody knew where they came from. When she was older, she put them on her ankles. As time went by, she found that she couldn't pull them off over her feet. So they remained there. She rolled up the bottoms of her pants to that they were above her ankles. Syaoran was already in his practice uniform - loose leather pants and a white cotton shirt, as well as thin sandals. He took off the sandals because Sakura had taken off her shoes.  
  
They began to fight. Yamazaki and Josh put up weak magical shields around their friends, so that a magical attack would make little more than a sharp sting on the one who received the attack. However, physical movements went right through the shields. Eriol and Tomoyo worked on Eriol's balance, but did not fight. Meilin watched Sakura and Syaoran's battle closely, checking that neither was breaking the rules.  
  
After a minute or so, Sakura let Syaoran pin her down on the floor. He knew she had let it happen on purpose. "Time!" she called, meaning that the fight was paused. Yamazaki and Josh took down the shields to take a small break. "Lesson One, Syaoran. When you are pinned down, you lose. Everyone knows that. But you can use a. like a magical punch to throw your opponent off you. That's easy, anybody can do that. The part you have to learn is how to block that. The thing is that in certain kinds of fight, the attack itself is not permitted. This is because if it's blocked, it will be reflected back to the person who sent it out. Since they are against the ground and can't move, the attack will most likely knock them unconscious for at least a couple days. If the attack is powerful enough, it can put you to sleep for about a month."  
  
Syaoran nodded. Suddenly a bright pink light shot out of Sakura's chest and hit Syaoran's throwing him about five yards away into a wall. His back hit it and he sank to the floor. "You wouldn't be afraid of it if you didn't know how it felt," Sakura explained while walking over to help him up. "We don't need you getting careless and not bothering with a shield because you think that it won't hurt you. Now that one could have knocked me out for about two weeks. I probably could have killed you if I'd wanted to, but I didn't. And besides, I think we need that wall." She pulled him up off the floor, although he still wasn't quite recovered from the shock of the impact. "Now, let's work on blocking that so you don't have to go through that, or worse, in the future."  
  
*~*  
  
"Wow, Syaoran, you look horrible! What happened?" one of Eriol's 'sisters' said loudly when the group of friends went in for lunch. She was Hiiragizawa Nakuru. Nakuru was a member of the eighteen-year-old class that would be leaving in December. "He was practicing magic attacks and blocks with Sakura. She threw him into a wall from five yards away and after that she proceeded to show him what you call the Electric Shock," Eriol replied. Nakuru was right, though. Syaoran looked terrible. "Ooh Sakura, you really used the ES? Did it shock him all over like it's supposed to?" Nakuru asked excitedly. "Exactly." ES was the nickname for the difficult attack that was used to immobilize an opponent for a few seconds. When inexperienced fighters used it, it usually did all but nothing. ES was the lightning attack that Yelan had used to punish Syaoran after his first fight with Sakura. "You'd think she was trying to kill me," Syaoran said wearily. "She kept doing all the hard attacks that only advanced people can do." "Well that's because the easy attacks can all be blocked the same way. It's only the hard ones that you have to learn how to block," Sakura said. The group sat down at their usual table. "Oh brother, I hurt all over," Syaoran complained. "You're such a baby," Sakura told him. "But I'll make up for being so brutal by getting your lunch for you. What do you want?"  
  
After lunch, Sakura took Syaoran back to their room so he could put on clean clothes. The others headed out to the gardens. Tomoeda may be a brutal and harsh place, but it wasn't dark and scary. Sakura was in the bathroom brushing her hair while Syaoran changed. "Sakura?" he called from the room. "Yeah?" "Could you help me out with my shirt? I think you almost dislocated my shoulder." "Sure." Sakura walked into the room, blushing a little to see Syaoran without a shirt on. She had to admit that the other girls were right when they said he was hot. He didn't seem to notice her blush because he wasn't looking at her. Syaoran was obviously embarrassed at needing help. He pointed at a T-shirt that was lying on his bed and she picked it up. She started to put it over his head but he couldn't move his one arm very well and he was obviously in pain. She let go of the shirt that was around his neck. "Does the baby want me to kiss it and make it all better?" she asked. Syaoran was surprised that the statement wasn't in a sarcastic tone of voice.  
  
Sakura leaned over and kissed his shoulder and Syaoran felt her pink aura wrap around his shoulder like an invisible bandage. He blushed brightly. His shoulder didn't hurt anymore. She pulled back and smiled. "The girls were taught that. I don't know why, but I guess the founders wanted us to be able to heal without it being visually obvious,'" Sakura said.  
  
They left the room and joined their friends outside in the summer heat. The school owned a huge expanse of land around the building and they all headed through the forest to a small, deep pond that the four boys had found as children. They sat down on the sandy shore of the pond to relax in the sun. Soon, they became a bit too warm for comfort, but didn't want to head back after only a few minutes of being here. The boys took off their shirts, but the girls didn't know what to do. "Why don't you take off your shirts too. It's not like you don't have anything on underneath. Who cares anyway? It's just us here," Eriol suggested. The three girls stared at him like he was crazy.  
  
Meilin sighed. "You know, he's got a point and I can't stand the heat anymore," she said, pulling off her shirt. Now all she had on above her waist was a band of black cloth around her chest and some of her stomach with two straps over her shoulders. "You know, now that I think about it, our undershirts aren't really all that revealing," Meilin pointed out. Sakura nodded and pulled off her shirt too. Tomoyo sighed in forfeit and followed suit. The boys didn't seem to care that much that the girls were showing much more skin than normally.  
  
"I'm bored," Josh said after a while. He poked a finger into the pond to find that the crystal clear water was ice cold despite the weather. "Hey, lets see how far each of us can get into the water in ten seconds without moving backwards or getting out for another ten seconds." Everyone nodded. The girls were glad that their undershirts were black and not white, because they knew what happens to white shirts when they get wet. They all stood on the edge of the pond and Josh counted down from three to zero, and then began to count to ten. Everyone raced into the water, but Tomoyo stopped when it came to her waist, and Eriol and Meilin stopped soon after. Josh went until it was up to his elbows. Sakura and Syaoran were up to their chins in the ice cold water. The other five slowly proceeded until Josh's count reached ten. He started again at one and once he was done Sakura and Syaoran cheered and hugged even though they had tied and everyone ran out of the water. Now none of them were uncomfortable in the sunshine.  
  
As soon as their clothes had dried, they put their shirts back on and started back. Sakura yawned and it became contagious. Syaoran yawned too and closed his eyes while doing it. He, being the tallest of the group, hit his head on an overhanging branch. His nose, although not broken, began to bleed and Tomoyo ran away upon seeing the blood so suddenly. She had a weak stomach but usually she had a chance to prepare herself for the sight of blood. "Let's follow her, you two. Last time this happened she passed out. Sakura, stay here and help him clean up," Meilin ordered, hurrying off after Tomoyo with Josh and Yamazaki. Sakura and Syaoran went back the few yards to the pond. The bleeding had already slowed. Syaoran washed the blood off with water from the pond and it stopped bleeding soon. "Want me to heal it so it doesn't start bleeding again?" Sakura offered. Syaoran nodded. She stood on her tiptoes to kiss his nose. Syaoran felt the same warm feeling as when she had healed his shoulder and he blushed deep red at how close she was to him. She was holding his arms to keep her balance. Sakura was blushing as well. It wasn't the person they were with that made them blush, but the fact that they had never been this close to someone of the opposite sex. It was over quickly and they hurried off to find their friends.  
  
It turned out Tomoyo had not fainted and everything was fine. The next day, more interesting events would take place. 


	3. My Mother's Daughter

Partners  
  
By Tenshi no Kijutsu/Carrie  
  
Chapter Three: My Mother's Daughter  
  
Author's notes: Just so you people know, this story is not intended to be very long. I'm thinking around seven chapters, ten at the most. The fact is that I don't want to have this story around for so long that I just can't write it anymore. This chapter will probably sound a little rushed because I'm trying to get to the plot. And by the way, the PG-13 rating is entirely because of violence. If you're reading this because it's S+S and E+T, none of that will really develop until the end. This isn't meant to be a romance story. I think there might be some E+T mush before S+S comes around. It's just easier for me to write about E+T because I guess I can understand their personalities better. I'm a lot like Tomoyo. For instance, I am a hyper camera freak that likes to sew. The only difference is that I don't tape everything and my mom rarely lets me near a sewing machine. Oh yeah, and I'm not in love and never have been in love with members of the same sex. I like guys, thank you very much. Also, I am aware that I made it quite clear in the first chapter that the school lets them 'fool around'. That may have come off as suggestive. It wasn't. It was to build the atmosphere of the school. Neither this fic, nor the sequel/part 2 will have lemon in it. I'm only 15 here, I do not write that kind of stuff. And on another note, this story IS alternate universe (AU). So, think of it this way: there's no guns, but the majority of military defense groups (like army, navy, air force, etc.) consist of people with magic or with magical items. I know this is a really long note, but this is mostly stuff that should have been said in the beginning. If I had known how much I'd come to love this story, I probably would have paid more attention to these details.  
  
Also, in this story Toya is not Sakura's brother, he is Nadeshiko's brother. This is for purposes that will become evident in this chapter. If you don't like adding Mosquito/Kawayui to the story, I will put her story in a separate fic at some point in time.  
  
Preview of this chapter:  
  
With a sudden flash of blackness, everybody's heart missed a beat and they stumbled a bit as their minds retracted from Sakura's and the trance ended. Sakura woke slowly, a little disoriented from having ten human minds tuning in as she relived the dream.  
  
----  
  
The day began badly. There is no other way to put it. For some reason, the founders seemed to be on edge and this made the students uncomfortable. They practiced hard in the morning, but most of them made stupid mistakes. Luckily, the founders were also distracted and didn't bother to reprimand them. By lunch, everyone had a few bruises and was relieved to hear that afternoon academics were cancelled. However, before Sakura, Syaoran, Eriol, Tomoyo, Meilin, Josh, and Takashi could go back to bed and take naps, the founders pulled them aside and led them to a conference room. Already in the room were four students from their class that they didn't really know very well. They were told their names were Mizuki Chiharu, Mizuki Rika, Hiiragizawa Naoko, and Hiiragizawa Yoshiyuki. (Yoshiyuki is Terada-sensei's first name! I made him the same age as Rika so the relationship is less wrong if I end up putting it in. Don't get your hopes up, though.)  
"Everyone, these four students will help you out. The reason we have you all here and not just Sakura is that we fear that the rest of you may develop similar dreams in the near future," Hiiragizawa-sama said. "Kaho, please explain the abilities of these four."  
"Well, Naoko is capable of predicting the future and the past. She is also excellent at interpreting dreams. Chiharu excels at casting complicated spells, including projecting dreams and thoughts from one person's mind into those of others. Yoshiyuki is very good at transporting himself and others into other places and into dreams. And Rika is a Peacemaker. She casts protective spells that guard against many things. This includes the spells used in Native American dream-catchers to ward off nightmares," Kaho explained.  
The seven teenagers smiled at their four classmates. "Li-sama, if I may ask, when are we to work with them?" Tomoyo asked.  
"Ah, I almost forgot that part. As I have noticed, your magical skills have greatly increased, Syaoran. And because all eleven of you are excellent students, we will allow you to work together every morning that you think is necessary. However, we do expect your fighting skills to continue to improve.  
"Yes, Li-sama," they all chorused. The eleven teens left the room and went outside the main building to get acquainted with each other, despite their weariness from their combat training. (Okay, I've been playing WAY too much Materia Magica. I've actually started calling it combat training. *sigh* No wonder I practically forgot that I write fanfics. *whaps forehead*)  
"So, I suppose we should start off telling you about my dream?" Sakura asked the four new members of their not-so-little group.  
  
"Oh, about that, Sakura-san. We've already been told all the details of what the Ladies know. Chiharu-chan wants to project your dream for us all, though. It will make it easier for us to help each other out," Naoko said. Sakura nodded.  
"What do I have to do?" she asked.  
  
"Nothing, really. Just relax and open your mind. Don't block anything from me," Chiharu replied. She went over to Sakura, and they both sat down. They both closed their eyes as Chiharu knelt behind Sakura, putting her fingertips on the other girl's temples. She silently mouthed the words of the spell and then caught Sakura as she passed out, falling backwards into Chiharu's ready arms. In everyone's mind, the dream played itself out and so did Sakura's emotions. Her head was resting in Chiharu's lap as the spell-caster waited for the spell to end and for the girl to wake.  
With a sudden flash of blackness, everybody's heart missed a beat and they stumbled a bit as their minds retracted from Sakura's and the trance ended. Sakura woke slowly, a little disoriented from having ten human minds tuning in as she relived the dream.  
"I can see why you tore apart the sheets," Syaoran said to break the silence. Everyone smiled nervously. They were all shaken by the experience.  
"I sure hope there's a reason for all this. I'd hate for this weird experience to just be an odd coincidence or something. And I sure hope that we don't all have dreams like this," Meilin said.  
"Well, let's analyze," Naoko suggested. The others agreed and they sat in a circle to go over the details and try to decide what to do next.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Ma'am, where is your daughter Shizuko? We haven't seen her in a very long time and if she has run away or died we need the information for our records," the school official told Amamiya Miruka.  
"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't know where she is at the moment. She likes to play around the village. And I don't think it should matter since you won't admit her to the school anyway," Miruka replied, her annoyance showing.  
"We need the information for our records. If your child is not right in the head, we will have to add the information to our genealogical records for future reference when making pairs, ma'am," the official replied.  
"My daughter is not crazy! She is perfectly sane, she is just a normal child, playing around town as she should! To even think that you would suggest that my Shizuko is insane is a disrespect to myself, my husband, and most of all my daughter!"  
"Amamiya-san, you and your husband are not genealogically correct for each other. That in itself is the greatest shame you could suffer!" the officer shot back menacingly.  
"What's going on out here? Miru-chan, what's wrong?" Amamiya Touya came out and wrapped his arms around his wife to hopefully calm her.  
"What's wrong?! This sad excuse for an official is saying that Shizuko is mentally unstable, that's what's wrong!" Miruka shouted, pointing at the official. The official simply turned to leave.  
"I will find your daughter, or I will report that insanity runs in her blood from her mother's side. Good bye," he said sternly.  
  
The official and his teammates spent most of the day searching for Amamiya Shizuko. They eventually did find her, in the woods. But they were in for a huge surprise.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Okay, so we've decided it was all crap or it's a premonition," Rika concluded. It was already late in the day and the large group had spent hours trying to figure out the dream.  
"Yup," they all chorused. Tomoyo stifled a yawn.  
"Time for dinner, then bed," Syaoran said. The others agreed quietly, too sleepy to further their conversations. Everyone headed off to the dining hall, which was so big that it needed it's own building.  
Dinner was uneventful. Almost everybody had slept through the afternoon and they were still drowsy. Everyone that hadn't was just as tired. The hall was unusually silent.  
Then it was time for bed. The entire seventeen-year-old class trickled into their dormitory building. The other students went into their own buildings. Sakura brushed her hair and teeth, changed into her pajamas, and went to sleep.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Who are you?" the officials asked the little blond girl.  
"I'm Mosquito. Who are you?"  
"We're school officials. Where are your parents and who are they?"  
  
"Mommy and Daddy said I'm not s'posed to talk to people I don't know."  
  
"Yeah, so why don't you leave Mosquito alone? You found me, and that's what you were looking for. You don't want to know anything about Mosquito. She's boring," the black-haired girl said.  
"Now listen Shizuko, we need to keep track of everyone living in Tomoeda and the surrounding villages. Do you know who her parents are?"  
"Yeah, but I ain't telling. I ain't telling you nothing. You don't want me in your school, so go 'way. You ain't got nothing to do with me or Mosquito," Shizuko replied.  
"Well, if neither of you will tell us, we'll have to find out the hard way." One of the officials, a woman, picked up Mosquito and another woman picked up Shizuko. They began walking towards town.  
"PUT ME DOWN!" both girls shouted. They began kicking and beating their hands on the officials that held them. Mosquito, who was younger, began to cry loudly. As soon as they reached the town, four people came running at them. "Kawayui? What's wrong, baby?" a blond woman cried out, closely followed by her husband.  
"Shizuko!" Miruka shouted, pulling her daughter from the arms of the school official.  
"Hold it right there, all of you! Who are you?"  
"I'm Andriandi Liam and this is my wife, Amamiya Ayame. Can we have our daughter Kawayui back now?" the man with the blond woman said. The official handed the wailing girl to her mother.  
"Okay, well, get her things packed. We have to take her to the school with us."  
"What? But.she's too old! She's five already!" Shizuko shouted.  
"Good. She'll have a year to get used to the place then start her schooling with the other six-year-olds in January. Let's go, now. Hurry up, will you?"  
Ayame, Liam, and Kawayui went inside their house, shortly followed by Shizuko's family. They packed Kawayui's few belongings in a trunk, with lots of room left over. Miruka snuck over to her house, grabbed Shizuko's things, shoved them in the trunk, and then put her daughter on top.  
"I don't care if you take classes or not, you're going to that school."  
"Yes, Mama. I want to go! It's not fair that I can't! I can pass as Mosquito's age! I look like I'm six, not eight!" Shizuko said before her mother shushed her and locked the trunk  
The two fathers dragged the trunk out and Kawayui followed reluctantly. At least she would have her friend there. The woman that had picked her up smiled and took her hand, while one of the men put the trunk in their cart. Suddenly, she broke away from the official and ran towards a gray striped cat followed by three kittens. She gathered them all up and put them in a covered basket her mother quickly brought to her. As she returned to the officials, the one in charge looked ready to protest, but one of the women put her hand on his arm firmly and kept him from speaking. They all got on the cart as well and headed to the school.  
When they got there, it was pitch black and Kawayui had already fallen asleep. They put her in a room in the dormitory for her age. The first thing she remembered when she woke up was her friend in her trunk. She let the other girl out, although Shizuko was still sleeping. They unpacked and Shizuko checked out the extra bed in the room. "Guess they usually share," she said. The girls noticed immediately that there were two sets of school-issued clothing, one for each of them. Apparently someone had known about Shizuko.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sakura looked around. She was in a circle of fire, and outside the circle stood all of her friends, new and old. They stood in a circle holding hands around the fire. Their eyes were closed, but their faces were covered in tears. Each glowed in their own color, and the energy started flowing around the circle, faster and faster until the colors were all a white blur. The power stretched out and formed a dome around the fire and, Sakura was shocked to realize, what appeared to be her own half-conscious self. The dome pressed lower and lower until it was suffocating the flames. A hole in the center allowed Sakura to pull herself out and steps formed for her to quickly climb down. The spell faded and turned into a silvery liquid, extinguishing the fire. The teenagers in the circle all collapsed, and both Sakuras checked every one of them for life. All of them were alive but unconscious. Suddenly, ropes bound her ankles together and her wrists behind her back. Sakura watched herself thrashing on the ground with what energy she had left, kicking and digging with her feet in the soil until she had made a ditch and her feet were raw from the effect. Her face was red and her breathing was heavy as she finally gave up and fell asleep. She watched rough hands picking her up and taking her someplace - she didn't know who or where.  
Sakura woke up screaming, with Syaoran shaking her shoulders. He dragged her out of the bed, carrying her to the small armchair in the room and putting her down. He held her wrists to the armrests to stop her frantically waving arms and looked at her face, waiting for her to talk. She looked at her bed. The sheets and blankets were torn and thrown off the bed, the mattress was ripped apart and feathers from the pillow were just settling. Syaoran reached up now that she'd calmed down and pulled a handful of feathers from her hair. She noticed four thin scratches on the side of his face and blushed, knowing she had put them there.  
"I'm not sure how to explain it. Can we wait for morning? Chiharu can use that spell again," Sakura suggested.  
"Where will you sleep? It's only one or two in the morning," Syaoran said. "You can have my bed, I'll take the chair, if you want."  
"No, I couldn't do that to you. I'll take the chair. I'm the one that destroyed my bed, anyway."  
"Fine, if that's what you want."  
"That's what I want. But first, I'm taking a shower," Sakura said, grabbing a towel and heading to the bathroom. ---  
"Syaoran."  
"What is it, Sakura?"  
"I can't sleep. It's like everywhere I look there's something in the shadows."  
"Come here, Sakura." Sakura walked over to Syaoran's bed in the dark. He sat up. "Okay, sit."  
"Now what?"  
Syaoran put his arms around Sakura, her back against his chest. "Now, you stay here and know that I won't let anything hurt you, okay? And then when you fall asleep, I let you lay down and I go sleep on the chair."  
"But..."  
"No, just go to sleep. You need rest to prepare yourself for Chiharu's spell in the morning."  
"Okay," Sakura finally said sleepily. She snuggled up to him and he felt his face get hot as he realized how close she was to him. But she fell asleep quickly and he gently set her down and moved to the chair to sit through a sleepless night. ---  
In the morning, Syaoran woke Sakura and sent her into the bathroom so they could each change clothes privately. Morning practice proceeded as usual, Sakura teaching Syaoran how to cast shields without breaking his stride in a fight. Tomoyo and Eriol worked with balance. Eriol was getting better already. He could now do more complex fighting maneuvers because he could recover from them quickly and be prepared for the next movement.  
They finished lunch early and had an hour left before their academic studies. So they all trooped out to the grassy field and stood in a circle around Chiharu and Sakura. Sakura relaxed and let Chiharu enter her mind. After a few moments of the trance-like state, they all collapsed to the ground as their hearts skipped a beat like they had the day before. Sakura woke to see everyone sitting on the ground around her instead of standing.  
"Well? What do you think? Maybe if we find out what that spells is, it will help us figure out what happened in the dream," Sakura suggested.  
"Sounds good to me," Syaoran replied.  
"Well then it's decided," Naoko put in. "Off to the library. We've got forty-five minutes before classes from the looks of the Sun."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I guess we should get dressed and look around. I wonder where all the other children are," Kawayui said to her friend. She stroked her cat Kusabukai and looked at the three playful kittens: Yamazakura, Hanahubuki, and Ouka. "Kusa-chan, do you want to go outside? Yama? Hana? Ouka? Shizuko- chan, I'm pretty sure they agree."  
"Sure, Mosquito. Them cats are smart, they know what's good for us." So the two girls got dressed. Kawayui dressed in a brown cotton skirt and a white blouse with boots. Shizuko put on brown pants and a blouse that matched Kawayui's. She also put on boots. It was still January and it was cold. The two girls left the children's dormitories with their four feline companions. Unfortunately, they had no idea where anything was. Within ten minutes a bell rang and they noticed the sun was high in the sky. They were hungry and didn't know where they were supposed to eat. They eventually wandered into a small building with lots of big windows.  
"Shizuko-chan, I don't think this is where we're supposed to eat."  
"No, Mosquito, I'm pretty sure this is a library. Look at all the books. Hey, there's some grownups, let's ask them where we're supposed to go."  
"Okay." The girls walked over to a large group of young men and women.  
"E'cuse us, but we're new and nobody told us what that bell means or where we're supposed to go to eat or nothing."  
"Oh, but aren't you old to be new?" a dark-haired boy with glasses asked them.  
"Well, Mama and Papa had Shizuko-chan hide me from the school every year, and they never accepted her. So they found me and I snuck her in. I'm sorry, my name's Andriandi Kawayui. This is my friend Amamiya Shizuko. Ah, and this is my cat Kusa and her babies: Yama, Hana, and Ouka."  
"Well it's nice to meet you Andriandi-chan, Amamiya-chan, kitties," a girl with honey-brown hair said.  
"My name's Kinomoto Sakura. These are my friends Li Meilin, Li Syaoran, Daidouji Tomoyo, Hiiragizawa Eriol, Hiiragizawa Naoko, Hiiragizawa Yoshiyuki, Mizuki Yamazaki, Mizuki Josh, Mizuki Chiharu, and Mizuki Rika. Ah, I think that's everybody."  
"It is a pleasure," the two small girls replied.  
"Why are there so many Hiiragizawas and Mizukis?" Kawayui asked.  
"Well, there's a system here. They'll teach you later on. What strange names the cats have though. Kusa, that's grass. Yama means mountain, Hana means flower, and Ouka means force, right?"  
"Ah, that ain't it," Shizuko said. " It's Kusabukai, Yamazakura, Hanahubuki, and Ouka. Kusabukai means weeds 'cause Mosquito's mama found Kusa and her kits in a bunch of weeds. Yamazakura means a wild cherry blossom, Hanahubuki means falling cherry blossoms, and Ouka is another word for cherry blossom. My Papa named them that. I don't know why, though. My parents are Amamiya Toya and Olaina Miruka. Mosquito's parents are Andriandi Liam and Amamiya Ayame. Papa says that Ayame-sama is his sister. And that they have another sister, but he's not allowed to say who it is. But I ain't stupid, I listen carefully to Papa. Papa told Mama that a lady here, some lady named Nadeshiko is Papa's sister."  
"Well I heard my Mama say that that Nadeshiko lady was married before and had a girl that went here. But they don't know what happened to her. Her nanny as a kid was Chinese and called her...um... Ying Ha or Ying Fa or something. I think-"  
"Ying Fa?" Syaoran shouted suddenly, getting startled looks from everyone. Kawayui nodded slowly. "Li-sama taught some of the best students Chinese. Ying Fa means cherry blossom. Like Ouka. Or like Sakura," he said. All the stares turned from him to Sakura.  
"You mean to tell me that Kinomoto-sama is my mother? Syaoran, that's just ridiculous. She's a founder. How could I be her daughter without being one of the first students here?"  
"You don't listen well in History, do you, Sakura-san?" Naoko said with a laugh. "The five founders we have today aren't the original ones. There were five before them, and another five before that. Ours are the third group of founders."  
"It would be so awesome if she was your mother. I can see the resemblance, really. I already was wondering if they we're going to try and keep you on as a teacher or something if you'd want to," Tomoyo commented.  
"Well maybe I don't want her to be my mother!" Sakura said loudly and everyone was silent. It was unlike Sakura to have moods like this. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to be the daughter of a founder. Do you have any idea how much that would change everything? I'd be the only student other than these two children to know my parents. Promise that you won't try to find out. We've all grown up knowing that our parents would never see us again. Now that it's almost time to leave the school, I don't want to screw up my studies. I want to leave with the founders' blessings, whether I chose a military position, political position, or whether I give up that kind of life. And knowing my parents is not part of that plan."  
"If you want that, Sakura," Syaoran replied gently, trying to calm her and keep everyone from disagreeing with her plea.  
"I do want that. I really want that," Sakura said quietly. As if suddenly remembering the two little girls, she turned to them and offered to take them to the Dining Hall. It was almost time to head off for academics anyway. They walked off, all of them lost in their own thoughts about this development. ----------- Well the reason I made Chiharu and Rika Mizukis is that I'm doing that with just about every extra person. Naoko is a Hiiragizawa because she can be pretty creepy when she wants to be. Yoshiyuki is a Hiiragizawa because it just makes two Mizukis and two Hiiragizawas.  
  
Wow, eight pages! That's more than the first two chapters put together. Hope it makes up for the wait you all had to endure before you got Chapter 2 and then this chapter. Please review. If you want me to notify you when I update, please leave your email address. I email everyone that left their email address in a review. Thanks for reading, hope to see you again for Chapter 4. 


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